Method of forming wells.



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'1,009,159'. Patented 11011.21, 1911 l anun-annu' 1.

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` G. s. LonwIcK.

METHOD OF I'OEHING WELLS. PILIOATIO FILED AUB. 1, 1011.

1,009,159. Patented ov.21, 1911.

Witncoocs' d' :I adv/cl j su ru 'um agua-Annual GWYLIM S. LOIJWICK, F MYSTIC, IOWA.

METHOD 0F FORMING WELLS.

Specicaon of Letters vPatent.

Patented Nov. 21, 1911.

Application lediugtlst 14, 1911. Serll N0. 643,867.

To all whom it may concern:

' Be it known that l', Gwnm S; Lonwlcit, aV citizen ot' the United States, residing at Mystic, in the county of Appanoose and State of iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Forming li'ells; and l do declare the following to he a full. clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable 10, others skilled'in the nrt to which it appertains' to make and use the same.

This invention relates broadly to the art of ezx'cavatingl and more especia ll v it is a method or system of treating,r quicksand. sa nd, gra vel and similar granular strata which is naturally more or less moist and which thc engineer may ind, possibly beneath the surface stratum, at a point where he desires to sink a well or to form the foundation for a bridge,a

building, or the like. Heretoforevarious attempts have been made to solidify such a mass by injecting cement, sult'ur and asphaltum, and other substances some of whie 1 depended more or lc.-`rs upon thc moist or wet condition in which thcV granular stratum was found, but by experience l have learned that occasionally the engineer will strike dry sand or gravel which can be treated by my improved process, or that where it is attempted to treat moist sand and the like the moisture is sometimes so excessive that the cement injected therento never fairly sets and dries.

The present invention will be wel! anden stood from the following specification, taken in connection with the attached drawings, wherein- Figure 1 designates a vertical sectional view through the earth showing a surface quicksand, sand. gravel, or the like, and iencath that a hase as of rock; and designates some of thc steps of my improved process as will be explained; Fig. 2 is a diagraunnatic view wherein the dotted lines indicate areas which are treated by my improved process as explained below, for the purpose of producing a rectangular foundation or area as indicated h v the solid lines; Fig. 3 is a perspective sectional view through the earth and n stratum of rannlar material, and a section through n tfxmndation formed by my process in said stratum, thc earth above the foundation being removed so that the superstructure can he erected thereon; Fig. 4 a

horizontal section through the earth and a stratum of ordinary soil, a suhstratum ot'line and later diagrammatic view of a somewhat smaller frame than that illustrated in Fig. 2, surrounding an objective area in which a well is to be drilled.

In the prosecution of engineering enterprises it often occurs that a stratum of quicksand, sand, gravel, or the like, either dry or moist, is encountered below the surfacestrutum or top dressing which is usually of earth as indicated in Fig. 1f and this granular stratum is extremely ditlicult to treat with a drill, auger, or pump, cannot easily be blasted, and forms an insecure sup- )ortfor piles or thc like which may be criven into it. Investigation proves that the stratum is' too deep or thin-.t to permit of its being dug,r out so t lat the engineer may reach the solid sub-stratum on which to build his foundation or in which to drill his well, and as the location of his enterprise is estahlishedand cannot be moved he is confronted with the )roblem of treating the granular stratum lirom the surface in such way as to 'either solidify a .eutiicient area to permithim to bore through it subsequently or to solidify an annular or rectangular arca or frame around the spot thi-ouch which he desires to bore or upon which 1e desiresl to superinlpose his foundation, which frame will hc sufliciently large and heavy to prevent the inflow of further aqueous granular material which would rot the driven wooden piles, render the foundation unstable, or fill the well yet to he formed. My improved manner of meeting and overcoming these conditions is by means of a proce* which may be said to involve three c istinct steps, to wit: the )roper Vseleotion of treatment points upon the earth to outto build said frame around the area constituting the ultimate objective, the proper sinkineP of the holes through said points and the injection of cement:- thereinto, and the tinal proper treatment ofwhat might be called the objective arca.- These steps of lny process will now be described.

First, the letter A in Fig. 2 may designate the objective area which the engineer designs for subsequent treatment. The initial step of my improved process consists in locating this aren around the spot where the well islinally lo be sunk or upon which the foundation is to rest, and if by preliminary borings he discovers that there is heneath and around this area a stratum of granular material such as above described, he first drills holes H around this area and some little distance remote from it, and as each hole is drilled he sinks in it and drives ,therefore be said `to have interstices indithrou'rh the granular stratum a well casing C. The order in which said holes are drilled and casings are sunk is-for a rectangular area A as shownindicated b the numerals 1 to G in F iv. E?, although tiere would be more of snc holes around and possibly spaced farther from a larger area, and if a smaller and perhaps square area A were being treated four holes at its corners might answer. The idea is that this preliminary set of holes is to form a skeleton frame in a manner to be described below, and four of them at least should he disiosed at the corners of the area A. In ordinary circumstances and with the usual equipment of machinery, these holes are drilled one at a time and as soon as the first is formed the drill is moved to u proper point to form the second, and so on around the frame.

The next ste-p of my improved process consists in treating said holes. As soon as the drill has been moved from hole number 1 to hole number 2, ordinary cement mixed` with a large proportion of water is forced down the well casing C hy hydraulic plessure, and the casing of hole number 1 pulled up about av foot as indicated at the left of Fig. 1 so that the cement is allowed to flow out laterally into the sand. After a time the latter will become choked or impregnated with the cement and the pressure age on the pump will register that fact. T te shading at P in F ig. l shows this condition. The casing is then raised another foot where it is allowed to remain while more aqueous cement is injected, until the sand surrounding the hole farther up is impregnated with cement.

This condition indicated by the letter P in Fig. 1. This treatment is repeated and continued until the entire stratum of sand has been thoroughly impregnated with cement, when the casing can be removed from the hole as seen at the rirht of Fig. 1. Meanwhile hole number 2 will have been drilled, and the machine moved to hole number 3; and as soon as hole number 1 has been treated as just above described the treatment is carried to hole number 2, and so on around the frame. 1t is to be understood that the aqueous cement is injected under hydraulic pressure which is of suchrforce and duration proportionate to the nature of the granular stratum being treated, that when the casing is drawn u a step as indicated, the liquid cement is riven laterally into'the stratum for some considerable distance; and, assu1ning that thc nature of the granular material is the samcon all sides of cach hole, the dotted circles (see letter I, Fig. 2) may represent the extent of the impregnated area around each hole H, and hence it will be observed that the holes were originally sunken at such distances apart that these nnpregamated arcas would not overlap each other. The preliminary frame may cated by the reference letter i in Fi 2 after this first series of six holes has n treated.

The next step of m improved process is but a continuation o the first part. of it.

4excepting `that tho holes H are bored or sunken between and preferably a little inside of the original series of holes H or o positc said interstices i; and when ,these helles are treated with the aqueous cement under hydraulic pressure their areas I would naturally overlap the arcas I of the original set of holes as indicated at i' in Fig. 2. It is quite possible thatthc operator may find reasons to vary the location of this second set of holes. which I have numbered from 8 to l2 in Fig. 2, because he may run onto some o the impregnated `granular material from the first set of holes. Ordinarilyr it would appear that if the second set of holes are disposed midway between those in the first set and the same mixture of cement and water and the same hydraulic premura is used throughout the process, the engineer might locate the second set of holes with precision; but it must be remembered that the sub-soil conditions vary at different; points and perhaps his hydraulic pressure for hole number 1 did not impregnato an area as large as that indicated by the circle I or, if the gravel were larger there and thc interstices between` the individual pieces were larger, the aqueous cement impregnated a much larger arca than thus indicated. This he will readily discover when he sinks his second set of holes, for it is obvious that he cannot twice impregnato the same point; and in any event the pressure gage on the injector will indicate when a serious obstruction has been met, and the experienced operator can well judge conditions therefrom. It mav thereforebe said broadly speaking that the second set of holes are disposed in the spaces or intersticcs between thc impregnated areas around the first set, leaving the engineer some latitude as to how far between and at what intervals all holes are spaced. By preference the holes are drilled and the easing inserted and drawn upward and the aqueous cement injected in this second set of holes, in the same manner as was described with respect to the first set.

The next step in my improved process consists in a repetition of the step just dcscribed, exceptmr` that thc holes I are here sunken wit iin the objective area. A which is to receive the final treatment, and if said area is rectannular as shown in Fig. 2 there will be two of:a such holes H side by side, or properly disposed for a. larger area,

suiiicient pressure to cause the cement injected in the last series to impregnato the material around each hole radially outward to the areas already impregnated around the contiguous holes of the first series,

6. The herein described method of producin 'an objective area. in a stratum of granu ar material, thesame consisting in first forming a frame around said area by sinking a number of holes through -said Inaterial and injecting into them aqueous cement under hydraulic pressure suliicient to imircgnate the materiaharound each hole ra ial outward to the impregnated arcas aroun the adjacent holes, and then sinking holes in said objective area and treating them in the same manner but subjecting them to a higher ressure.

7. The herein ascribed method of forming a well or the like through a stratum of anular material, the same consisting in rst defining an objective area; second forming a. frame around said arca h sinking a. number of holes through sai material and injecting into them aqueous cement under pressure suficient to impregnate the material around each hole radially outward to the impregnated areas around the adja- Copiu of this patent may be obtained tor `radin cent holes;b third repeating the process withr in said objective area but employinga higher de ree of pressure; and finally forming the we l through said objective area after the cement wit 1in it has sel:`

8. The herein described method of producin `an objective area in a stratum of lnu ar material, the same consisting in 't forming a frame around the area by sinking in said material a double series of holes in staggered relation to each other, and impregnating the material around each hole with aqueous cement under pressure to cause the cement injected in the last series toimliregnate the material. around each hole ly outward to the areas already impregnated around the conti nous holes of the first series'I and then sin zing anumber of holes in sald objective area and treating them in the same manner but subjecting the injection therein to a higher pressure.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witncsses.

GWYLIM S. LODWICK. Witnesses:

Tnos. E. Wmmaars, D. J. Lnswnnrx.

tvo cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Iatents, Washington, D. C. 

